Þorsteinn Hallgrímsson (born 25 July 1942) is an
Icelandic former
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
player. Nicknamed Doddi, he won the
Icelandic championship nine times and the
Danish championship four times during his career.
At his peak, he was considered to be one of the
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...
best basketball player.
Playing career
Þorsteinn played his first game in 1959 with
ÍR.
He was a key player in the ÍR team that won the Icelandic championship for five straight seasons, from 1960 to 1964.
In 1965, Þorsteinn joined
SISU BK
SISU Basketball Klub is a Danish basketball club from Gentofte, Copenhagen founded in 1954. It takes its name from the Finnish term ''Sisu''. It is the oldest basketball club in Denmark. Both the men's and women's teams still plays in the leagu ...
in the
Danish Basketball League
The Basketligaen (English: The Basketball League) is the highest professional basketball league in Denmark. The men’s first division was originally founded in 1957.
Over the years, the league has undergone several name changes due to sponsorsh ...
and helped the club to the national championship in 1966 and 1967. He left SISU midway through the 1967–68 season, with the club in first place, and rejoined ÍR.
Þorsteinn was named the
Úrvalsdeild Player of the Year in 1971. After the season he moved back to Denmark and rejoined SISU,
winning the Danish championship in 1972 and 1973.
Þorsteinn retired after winning the 1977 Icelandic championship with ÍR,
but later appeared in three games during the
1979-1980 season before quitting for good.
National basketball team
Þorsteinn, at the age of 16, played in the
Iceland's first official national team game, against
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
.
Overall, Þorsteinn played 34 games for the
Iceland's national basketball team from 1959 to 1975. He led all players in scoring during the 1964 Polar Cup and was considered one of the best Nordic players during that period.
Team of the 20th century
In 2001 Þorsteinn was voted to the
Icelandic team of the 20th century in basketball as a player.
Lið aldarinnar hjá KKÍ tilkynnt í bikarúrslitaleikjunum á laugardaginn
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hallgrimsson, Thorsteinn
1942 births
Forwards (basketball)
Thorsteinn Hallgrimsson
Thorsteinn Hallgrimsson
Thorsteinn Hallgrimsson
Thorsteinn Hallgrimsson
Thorsteinn Hallgrimsson
Living people
SISU BK players
Thorsteinn Hallgrimsson
Thorsteinn Hallgrimsson
20th-century Icelandic sportsmen